Mount & Blade II – favorite mods (and tips to avoid crashes)

Overview

The list of the favorite Humphrey’s M&B II mods for a smooth and endless play.At this moment; solely using Bug Fixes, Tweaks for Tournaments (good source of currency and equipment early on), Diplomacy and QoL. Not yet messing around with balance mods, new units or re-shade.After the e1.5.0 patch , all mods need a revamp. I am waiting to update this Humphrey’s list to see which new mods come and to see which of the old ones are indeed updated.If you are still playing e1.4.2, you can use the mods in this Google Sheet [docs.google.com]. It is always more up to date than this guide. I did not updated the list to e1.4.3 because some community made fixes for some popular mods were not working with it.Humphrey will be very happy to receiving from you any suggestions of mods and to try them!

Tips to avoid crashes with mods in M&B II

Please, remember that M&B II is still in early access. It still contains bugs and not all the features are yet implemented.

Same happens with the mods. Mod Devs are performing an incredibly work, I am seeing mods being updated five or more times a day. So,

Be patient,
Read the information of the mods in their webpages!
Be supportive 😉

I would classify the origin of the crashes in the following categories:

Installation. Unblocking DLL.
- Strongly recommend is to use Vortex[www.nexusmods.com] if you download mods from “Nexus Mods”. Its webpage has a guide of how to use it.
- If you do not use Vortex[www.nexusmods.com], you MUST unblock the DLL of the mods. You can try unblocking them with Module Unblocker[www.nexusmods.com] or with any of the methods described in the webpage of BannerlordTweaks[www.nexusmods.com].
Installation. Missing dependencies.
Some mods need to be installed with other mods or they do not work. For instance,
- Party AI Overhaul and Commands[www.nexusmods.com] needs that Save Missing Module Fix[www.nexusmods.com] is also installed.
Sort of the mods in the launcher.
The mod Fixed Launcher[www.nexusmods.com] allows you to sort the mods in the M&B II launcher. Some mods work better if they are sorted in a particular order. For instance,
- The mod Community Patch[www.nexusmods.com] MUST be installed above all the other mods, even the official ones.
  ATCHUNG! The current version of Community Patch in NexusMods needs to be listed at the bottom or it crashes.
  
  If you use the version in GitHub[github.com] , put it above anything else.
- Both ModLib[www.nexusmods.com] and MBOptionScreen Standalone[www.nexusmods.com] MUST be installed AFTER the official mods and BEFORE all the other mods.
- In my personal experience, BannerlordTweaks[www.nexusmods.com] and Tournaments XPanded[www.nexusmods.com] seem to cause less conflicts if they are loaded at the bottom of the list.
Clean mod updates.
Some mods require that you completely delete the old mod folder before updating the new version. E.g., BannerlordTweaks[www.nexusmods.com].
Game updates.
Some mods require that you re-install them each time Steam updates M&B II. Until version 2.0.0, Fixed Launcher[www.nexusmods.com] required it. It is no longer needed but other mods might.
Plain and simple bugs.
As already said, game and mods are still in development. If you are certain that a mod is causing a crash, report to Dev providing useful information like:
- Try to replicate the situation when the game crashes.
- Check if the Bug has been already reported.
- Locate the crash log and attach it.
- Game version.
- Mod version.
- Conditions in what the crash happened and it is replicated.

Bug Fixes

Aregas.Save Missing Module Fix[www.nexusmods.com]
Fix loading system that prevents loading saves with mods that implemented its own custom classes.
Community Patch[www.nexusmods.com]
Fixes up some things in Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord. Besides, QoL “Enable and Disable the Intro Video”.
Cultural Feat Fixes[www.nexusmods.com]
Fixes and improves implementation of Player Culture Feats.
Extend the Conspiracy[www.nexusmods.com]
Extend the deadline on an active Stop the Conspiracy quest.
Fixed Formation Classes[www.nexusmods.com]
Makes troop formation groups (classes) savegame persistent.
Lord Don’t Leave Me Now[www.nexusmods.com]
Fix a bug in Bannerlord that causes lords to leave the player’s faction after they’ve been recruited, often for a weakened faction.
Development discontinued.
Recruitable[www.nexusmods.com]
Allows prisoner-menu recruitment of Tier 5 and Tier 6 units.
Traits Mod[www.nexusmods.com]
Fixes the trait creation/assignment system during character creation that allowed them to seemingly vanish upon initial actions in the game world.
Unit Stat Fixes[www.nexusmods.com]
Fixes wrong stats that many units have in the game. Over 60 units fixed.

QoL (Quality of Life) – Economy

Bannerlord AutoTrader[www.nexusmods.com]
Automatically buy cheap wares and sell those with high demand.
VARTS Workshop Suggestions[www.nexusmods.com]
Suggests the best possible workshops to build in a town by checking village production around them.
Workshop Demystifier[www.nexusmods.com]
Adds a basic breakdown of expenses, revenue, and fail reasons for workshops.

QoL – Equipment & Horse

Equipment Upgrader[www.nexusmods.com]
Automatic Equipment Upgrading for the player character and their companions via a button on the inventory screen.
Horse Call – Call Your Horse[www.nexusmods.com]
Press “f” for a second and your mount will do the best he can to reach you.

QoL – Graphics

Dismemberment[www.nexusmods.com]
Adds the gore aspect of dismemberment and decapitation.
Enhanced Mission RTS Camera[www.nexusmods.com]
Issue orders in RTS camera as if you are playing Total War.
If you want, AI controls your character while in Free Camera.
Control ally troops after you die.
Pause game or adjusting time speed.
Hide HUD.
The mod Enhanced Mission RTS Camera[www.nexusmods.com] adds more functionalities to this mod, like Enhance melee AI and Realistic blocking.
PhotoMOD[www.nexusmods.com]
If you want a lighter mod with only No HUD, Photo mode and FreeCamera instead of Enhanced Mission RTS Camera[www.nexusmods.com].

QoL – Interface

Dead Clans Deactivate[www.nexusmods.com]
Changes the clan banners shown in the faction view so that destroyed clans are grey like dead heroes.
Party Screen Enhancements[www.nexusmods.com]
Adds an Upgrade All, Sort all, and a Recruit All Prisoners button to the party interface.
Persistent Lock[www.nexusmods.com]
Maintains the lock status on items in your inventory even when the stack runs to 0 and you acquire more.
Summarize Cashflow[www.nexusmods.com]
You can hold Alt before hovering over your denar total to see the full original accounting of your books instead of the summary.
Compatible with Entrepreneur[www.nexusmods.com] mod.
Target Enemy Status[www.nexusmods.com]
Show you name and health of last enemy you hit.

QoL – Map

Ask Lords Location[www.nexusmods.com]
Updates location of Lords n the encyclopedia.
Naozumi’s Kingdom Info[www.nexusmods.com]
Shows extra info about kingdoms including number of heroes, wars and deaths.
Settlement Icons[www.nexusmods.com]
Renders icons over settlement nameplates to indicate an available quest, available tournament, or possibly available noble troops.
Sound The Alarm[www.nexusmods.com]
Alerts the player when one of their fiefs are attacked.
Thou shalt serve[www.nexusmods.com]
“Call me maybe”, enables you to talk directly with all Clanleaders in the game.

QoL – Others

Better Quicksave[www.nexusmods.com]
Adds a configurable amount of rotating, dedicated quick save slots for all your save scumming needs.
Don’t smelt locked weapons[www.nexusmods.com]
If you lock a weapon in your inventory it will be filtered out of the smelting menu.
BannerlordTweaks also has this feature.
Fast Dialogue[www.nexusmods.com]
Removes loading screens from essentially all map interactions.
Freeplay (Just Let Me Play)[www.nexusmods.com]
Disables all main quests, including the tutorial, and gives you a kingdom without hassle.

Change – Economy

Bank[www.nexusmods.com]
Simple Bank functionality.
Possibility to send some coins to any hero you have met in game.
Entrepreneur[www.nexusmods.com]
Modification for acquiring and managing property in settlements.
Workshop Stash[www.nexusmods.com]
Workshop inventory for each town that can be configured to feed inputs to workshops as well as hold their outputs.

Change – Equipment & Horse

Enter Castle and Town with a Horse[www.nexusmods.com]
Also makes cloth based Horse Harnesses civilian.
Frugal Cavalry[www.nexusmods.com]
Prioritize selecting cheaper horses when upgrading cavalry.
Knives In Town and Cleaver Sheath Bugfix[www.nexusmods.com]
Allows Knives and Throwing knives to be equipped to civilian outfit.
Also fixes cleaver visual bug.

Change – Tournament

Arena Expansion[www.nexusmods.com]
Adds weapon loadout selection to the arena.
Butterlord – Configurable Tourney Bet Limit[www.nexusmods.com]
Tournament bet cap is now configurable.
BannerlordTweaks also has this feature.
Tournament Fair Armour[www.nexusmods.com]
Every participant in tournaments will use the same armour set.
Tournaments XPanded[www.nexusmods.com]
Custom Tournament Prize Lists and Town based Prize Lists.

Change – Gameplay

AutoBlocker[www.nexusmods.com]
Allows players to chose how they want to block!
Bannerlord Tweaks[www.nexusmods.com]
Several game tweaks and some Bug Fixes. For instance, it lets you to you bring your entire army into a hideout.
Be aware that the default values re-balance the game completely making it a lot easier. Happily, you can change the values in a very nice menu made by this mod.
BuyPatrols[www.nexusmods.com]
Hire patrols from villages to help protect them.
Infantry moves a bit slower and body collision is increased so that they can’t clip into each other.
Combat Health Regen for Player and Mount[www.nexusmods.com]
Slowly regenerate health throughout the midst of battle depending on the player character’s personal medical skill.
Custom Spawns[www.nexusmods.com]
Peasant revolts, enslavers, deserters, cultsman, madmen, and many more that come with the travesties of war.
DiplomacyReworked[www.nexusmods.com]
Adds options to declare war on kingdoms, adds the option to talk to faction leaders from your castles and cities.
Enhanced Mission Change AI[www.nexusmods.com]
Enhance melee AI.
Realistic blocking.
Requires Enhanced Mission RTS Camera[www.nexusmods.com].
Fight to the End[www.nexusmods.com]
Stops units from fleeing while in battle. Manual player retreat is still possible.
Fighting Together Relationship[www.nexusmods.com]
Gain or lose relationship with allies you are fighting together.
JurBankFeatures[www.nexusmods.com]
Follow party in map.
Hideout party limit.
Keehu’s Slicer[www.nexusmods.com]
All 2 handed weapons now slice through enemies.
Movement and Body collision changes[www.nexusmods.com]
Infantry moves a bit slower and body collision is increased so that they can’t clip into each other.
Prevent Escape[www.nexusmods.com]
Modifies escape and barter of imprisoned nobles.
Recruiter[www.nexusmods.com]
Full Garrisons with little effort: Buy a recruiter that recruits for you!
Skills Actually Matter[www.nexusmods.com]
Makes skills have a meaningful effect on gameplay.
V’s Garrisons Don’t Eat Nor Starve[www.nexusmods.com]
Garrisons will no longer starve.
V’s No Player Prisoner Limit[www.nexusmods.com]
You can now have as many prisoners as you want.
V’s Production-Scaled Daily Defaults[www.nexusmods.com]
Output now scales to a settlement’s production value.
Xorberax’s Deadly Horse Charges[www.nexusmods.com]
Makes horse charges very deadly, purely due to those large, very heavy, and fast creatures running head-on into some meat bags.

Utilities

BetterExecptionWindow[www.nexusmods.com]
Instead of infinite loading/freezing or any weird behaviour, the game should throws an error window so you can identify the cause.
Developer Console[www.nexusmods.com]
Allows you to open the developer console by pressing the CTRL and ~ (tilde) keys together.
Fixed Launcher[www.nexusmods.com]
Allows to order mods in the launcher.
No longer requires to re-install after Steam updates the game.
MBOptionScreen Standalone[www.nexusmods.com]
A fork of ModLib created by mipen.
ModLib[www.nexusmods.com]
ModLib is a dependency mod that provides useful code and a settings menu for mods to use.

Total conversion

Total conversion mods are still in development. You can preview in the hereafter links a lot of very promising mods settled in the lore of Tolkien, Game of Thrones, Roma, Mass Effect and all that endless universes that made Mount & Blade the game with the greatest replayability:

The Chamber of Crafts – Mods Under Construction[forums.taleworlds.com] in the modding TaleWorlds forums[forums.taleworlds.com].
Mod DB.

Stay tuned!

Guide history

2020-05-17. Updated the Google Sheet[docs.google.com] to e1.4.0.
2020-05-11. Updated the Google Sheet[docs.google.com] to e1.3.1.
2020-04-17. Updated to e1.2.0 patch.
2020-04-10. Updated and added some tips to avoid crashes with Mods.
2020-04-08. Updated list and included in the Google Sheet[docs.google.com] a column with the combination of mods (ENABLED) that I am currently playing and work well for me.

Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord Guide